Folding shipping box and crate.



W. B. & G. J. GRAZER. FOLDING SHIPPING BOX AND CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1010.

Patented Sept. 6,1910.

W lkflltllll fb INVENTOR S W. E (KRAZER C. Jfiw RAZ s R Amomeys' 1n:NuRrus FEYKRS 2:0,, WASHINGYON, a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. GRAZER, OF PITTSBURG, AND CHARLES J. GRAZER, OF FAIRHAVEN,PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING SHIPPING BOX AND CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 21, 1910.

Patented Sept. 6, 1910. Serial No. 562,713.

'lb all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, (1) WVILLIAM E. GRAZER and (2) CHARLES J. GRAZER,citizens of the United States of America, residing at (1) Pittsburg, and(2) Fairhaven, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding ShippingBoxes and Crates, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to folding shipping boxes and crates, and theobjects of our invention are to provide a box or crate that can becollapsed to occupy a comparatively small space during transportation,and to provide a box or crate which in a set-up position will be rigid,durable, and highly efficient for transporting various kinds ofmerchandise.

Further objects of our invention are to furnish a folding box or cratewith novel locks for retaining the box or crate in a setup position, andto accomplish the above objects by a mechanical construction that issimple, inexpensive to manufacture, and easy to handle.

With the above and such other objects in view as may hereinafter appear,the invention consists of the novel construction, combination, andarrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically descril'ied and thenclaimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawing forming a part of thisspecification, wherein: Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the box orcrate. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same partly broken away andpartly in section. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the box orcrate folded or collapsed, and Fig. 4 is a plan of the box or cratepartly folded.

A box or crate in accordance with our invention comprises a bottom plate1, a rear wall 2, end walls 3 and 4, a frontwall comprising sections 5and 6 carried by the end walls 3 and 4 respectively, and a lid 7. All ofthese parts can be made of wood or metal.

The bottom plate 1 is rectangular in plan and connected to the upperrear edge of said bottom plate by hinges 8 in the rear wall 2 which insize corresponds to the bottom plate 1. This rear wall has the rear sidethereof adjacent to the ends provided with vertical links 9 and looselyconnected to said links by yokes 10 is the lid 7 of the box or crate,said yokes being connected to the rear edge of said lid, while the endsand front edge of said lid are provided with depending flanges 11. Thelid 7 is slightly larger in area than the rear wall 2 and the bottomplate 1, whereby said wall and plate can be folded upon the lid 7, aswill presently appear.

The end walls 3 and 4 are hinged, as at 12, to the rear vertical edgesof the wall 2, and these end walls have the lower edges thereof providedwith lateral flanges 13 adapted to engage under the ends of the bottomplate 1.

The sections 5 and (i of the front wall are hinged. as at H. to thefront edges of the end walls 3 and -l, and these sections 5 and (l havethe confronting edges thereof provided with locks which are identical inconstruction.

Each lock comprises a casing '15 carried by the section 5, said casinghaving one of the walls thereof slotted, as at 16. Pivotally mounted inthe casing, as at 17, are two spring-pressed pawls 18 adapted to engagea spear-shaped head 19, carried by a latch 20 slidably mounted in acasing 21, carried by the section (3. The pawls 18 are normally held inengagement with the spearshaped head 19 by coiled springs 22. The latch20 is moved within the. casing 21 through the medium of a button 93extending through a slot provided therefor in the lower side of the.casing 21. The pawls 18 protrude through the slotted side of the casing15 and the ends thereof can be compressed to release the latch 20,whereby said latch can be shifted out of the casing 15 and the sections5 and 6 opened after the lid 7 has been raised.

To fold the box, the lid 7 is lowered to the lower edge of the wall 2and said wall folded inwardly upon the inner side of the lid 7. Thebottom plate 1 is then folded inwardly upon the rear wall 2 and afterthe latches 20 have been unlocked, the end wall 2 and the sectionthereof is folded upon the bottom plate 1 within the lid and then theend wall 2 and the section (3 thereof folded upon the end wall 3 and thesection 5, it being in'unaterial which one of the walls 3 or 4 is foldedfirst.

It is thought that the operation of setting up the box or crate will beapparent without further description, and while in the drawings there isillustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to beunderstood that the structural elements thereof can be varied or changedWithout departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What We claim, is:

A folding box or crate embodying a bottom plate, a rear Wall hinged uponthe upper rear edge of said bottom plate, vertical links carried by therear side of said rear Wall, a lid provided With yokes loosely connectedto said links and adapted to receive when at the loWer ends of saidlinks said rear Wall and said bottom plate, end Walls hinged to thevertical edges of said rear Wall and adapted to fold inwardly, lateralflanges carried by the lower edges of said end Walls and adapted tosupport the ends of said bot-- tom plate, front Wall formed of a pair ofsections hinged to the vertical front edges of said end Walls a latchcarried by one of the sections of the front Wall, and means carried bythe other of the sections of the WILLIAM E. GRAZER. CHARLES J. GRAZER.

lVitnesses MAX I-l. SROLOVITZ, KARL H. BUTLER.

